KARACHI, Nov 25: A man who annually led a Muharram procession in Khuda Ki Basti was killed with his wife in North Karachi in a suspected sectarian attack on Monday, police said.
The New Karachi police said Munir Hussain, 45, and his wife, Razia Hussain, 40, were riding a motorcycle when gunmen on a motorbike opened fire on them near Saleem Centre in North Karachi. They sustained multiple bullet wounds and were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Subsequently, the woman’s body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for a post-mortem examination.
“The couple were apparently killed on sectarian grounds,” said SSP-Central Amir Farooqi.
He said Mr Hussain used to organise a procession on the 6th of Muharram every year in Khuda Ki Basti, Surjani, which often triggered tension in the locality. This year, too, a scuffle had broken out there.
The police said the victim couple were employees of a retired army officer in New Karachi. They were on their way to New Karachi from their Surjani home when attacked and killed.
A spokesman for the Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen condemned the killing of the couple. He said the police failed to provide security to Mr Hussain despite an apparent threat to his life.
“Mr Hussain had lodged an FIR at the Surjani Town police station on the 6th of Muharram after an attack on the procession. After that he was under threat and the police were well aware of that, but they did not take any step for his security,” he added.
Body found in graveyard
The body of a young man was found in the Paracha graveyard in Orangi Town on Monday, the Pirabad police said.
They said three bullets were fired on different parts of the victim but casings of spent bullets were not found in the graveyard, suggesting that he might have been killed somewhere else.
Pirabad SHO Abdul Moid said the dead might be a robber who was injured in a suspected encounter with the Manghopir police late on Sunday night.
He suggested that the wounded suspect might have taken shelter in the graveyard, where he later died.
Four ‘targeted killers’ held
District East police on Monday claimed to have arrested four suspected targeted killers allegedly involved in the killing of several dozen persons.
SSP-East Syed Pir Mohammed Shah said the police arrested the suspects identified as Suhail, alias Sanata and Bambata; Faraz, alias Lado and Baloch; Kamran, alias Gama, and Ali, alias Langra.
The police officer claimed that the suspects were involved in the killing of around 100 people, including policemen and seminary students.
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